System And Methods for Conducting Surveys
Embodiments introduced utilize one action to complete multiple surveys simultaneously. Furthermore, multiple questions are arranged which apply to each of the surveys. Submission of one response or answer addresses the questions and concludes the surveys at the same time.
This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/298,880, filed Jun. 6, 2014.
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCHNot applicable
SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAMNot applicable
BACKGROUNDField of Invention
This invention relates to conducting surveys, more particularly to conducting multiple surveys simultaneously using one action.
Description of Prior Art
Customer surveys are important for all kinds of business. Surveys on social or political issues are also important for policy makers as well as the general public. For business, survey results may be used to monitor customer service, improve product quality, obtain early warnings, observe future trends, etc. Conventional surveys use a questionnaire that includes multiple questions. The questions are often long and not easy to comprehend, and they often occupy several pages. No matter whether a questionnaire is on paper or on a screen, most people just shy away from it because, it is considered burdensome and intrusive. In many cases, only the allure of prize may make people participate surveys.
When there are multiple surveys, it would be more efficient and timesaving if the surveys could be completed together in a way like doing a single survey. But since conventional surveys have complex questions and answers, it is impossible to address multiple surveys simultaneously. For instance, answers of conventional survey may include options “extremely satisfied”, “satisfied”, “neither satisfied nor unsatisfied”, “unsatisfied”, and “extremely unsatisfied”. Assume that there are two events to be surveyed. If they could be addressed simultaneously by one action, it would mean that the events have the same answer out of five options, which seems impractical. As a consequence, surveys have to be conducted one by one in a tedious and time-consuming process. The trouble grows bigger when there are more events.
Due to the reluctance and dislike towards surveys, various awarding schemes are created to incentivize survey participants. One of the often used schemes is to arrange a raffle where incentivizing prizes are drawn. But the odds of winning in a raffle are so slim most people would ignore it. On the other hand, if a prize is for every participant, its value is often low, as it costs a lot given the sheer quantity of prizes. Obviously, a prize of small value is not attractive either. Thus, current awarding methods are considered weak and ineffective.
Therefore, there exists a need for a survey system and method which provide easy and less intrusive surveys, address multiple events or surveys simultaneously, and arrange effective awarding schemes.
The word “event” as noun is referred broadly as something which physically or virtually happened, is happening, or may happen, and is suitable for conducting surveys. Examples include, but not limited to, shopping, dining, gaming, travelling, service, a class in school, a concert or ritual, political, cultural, religious or sport activities, political, cultural, religious issues and policies, or other personal or collective phenomena. The start of an event may be the beginning of an activity, or the appearance of a subject or issue. Other examples may include the beginning of a shopping activity, the announcement of a policy, the publication of a personal, organizational, or national plan, or the occurrence of any other phenomena. For some long-lasting issues such as attitude towards marriage, education, or politics, the event starting time may be long time ago. The end of event may mean a conclusion, closing, ending, withdrawal, or disappearance.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGESAccordingly, several main objects and advantages of the present invention are:
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- a). to provide an improved system and method to conduct surveys;
- b). to provide such surveys which are quick, convenient, and less intrusive;
- c). to provide such surveys which are completed simultaneously by one action;
- d). to provide such surveys which target multiple events simultaneously with one action;
- e). to provide such surveys which provide multiple questions that apply to each event;
- f). to provide such surveys which address multiple questions simultaneously with one answer;
- g). to provide such surveys which address multiple questions and are concluded by one answer at the same time; and
- h). to provide such surveys which award participants with addible financial gains.
Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
SUMMARYIn accordance with the present invention, a single action may be designed to handle multiple events or complete multiple surveys simultaneously. The one-action multi-event survey or one-action multiple surveys are more productive and efficient compared to doing them one by one. As a result, a user may quickly finish lots of surveys on a routine base, and surveys on various daily events may become part of the life. In addition, in order to broaden the survey coverage, multiple questions may be prepared which apply to multiple events or multiple surveys. One answer, one response, or one action may be arranged to address the multiple questions and conclude the multiple surveys at the same time. Furthermore, users may earn points for doing survey as an incentive. The points may be added up and spent for “buying” or exchange of a product or gift.
Furthermore, client 80 may have a voice recognition component to receive user's verbal command or audio input. In addition, client 80 may have a gesture detection mechanism to receive user's gesture instructions. For VR and AR devices and some wearable devices, a virtual screen or screen having a very small size may be arranged. A virtual screen may be part of a virtual display which may not have a physical screen structure. While it is impractical or inconvenient to touch a virtual screen or very small screen, verbal command and gesture instructions may become useful for users. In discussions below, word “screen” may include virtual screen and screen with very small size, like smaller than a one-inch-by-one-inch square or even smaller than a fingertip. A survey interface or survey window may be presented via all kinds of screens.
The word “server” means a system or systems which may have similar functions and capacities as one or more servers. Main components of a server may include one or more processors, which control and process data and information by executing software, logic, code, or carrying out any other suitable functions. A server, as a computing device, may include any hardware, firmware, software, or a combination. In the most compact form, a server may be built on a single processor chip. In the figure, server 82 may represent one or more server entities that collect, process, maintain, and/or manage survey information and documents, conduct surveys, communicate with users, deliver information required by users, etc. Server 82 may exemplarily be divided into three blocks, represented by a processing module 18, a log database 20, and a survey database 12. Processing module 18 may include processing and communication functions. Log database 20 may store user ID information and survey ID information, which may be used to trace a survey that a user participated in. Survey database 12 may store survey results and other survey related information, such as information on the survey event. The databases may include a cluster of aforementioned memory chips and/or storage modules.
A communication network 14 may cover a range of entities such as the Internet or the World Wide Web, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a telephone network, an intranet, wireless, and other types of networks. Client 80 and server 82 may be connected to network 14 by various wired, wireless, optical, or other connections.
The view on surface 28 of
There is a question “Satisfied?” beside the event list. This is the only question in the survey, easy to read and quick to comprehend. The question applies to all events.
Beneath the question, there are three graphic objects or three buttons 30, 32 and 34. The buttons correspond to “Y” or “Yes” (satisfied), “N” or “No” (not satisfied), and “So-So” (average) respectively. These are three answers for the survey question, as compared to five or seven answers in conventional surveys. The five conventional answers may be very good, good, average, bad, and very bad. However, such answer format is not only complex, but also impractical for one-action multiple event survey.
In real life, users or consumers may be satisfied in many events or most events, e.g., when going shopping now and then around the town, which, after all, is what a business tries very hard to achieve every day. Consequently, answers for most surveys may be “Satisfied”. A user may use “Select All” to choose all events on the list, and then click or tap the “Y” button to complete the surveys in one action. If for instance, a user doesn't like the experience of event C, the user may first select all, then uncheck it, and then click on “Y” button to address the rest five events simultaneously. However, one-action multi-event survey would be impossible if there are two options, “Satisfied” and “Very Satisfied”, because two actions or two rounds may be needed for the two answers, plus a user may have a hard time to distinguish a “Satisfied” event from a “Very Satisfied” event.
It is noted that the multiple event survey shown in
There are other graphic objects on the display screen. If a user doesn't want to take a survey, he or she may tap a “Close” button 24. There is also a “Wait” button 26 for users who need more time to decide. Tapping “Wait” button may keep the survey window open for an extended period of time. On the bottom, “More Q&A” button 36 and “Comments” button 38 are arranged. Button 36 may lead to a survey with conventional format like many questions and five or seven answer options, which some users may prefer. Tapping button 38 may open up a comment pad for users to post comments reflecting thoughts and feels.
The above described survey may get started by a user and it addresses multiple events through only one action. It is simple, swift, easy, and less intrusive and thus more likely to be accepted by users than a traditional survey. For example, after a user purchases a cup of coffee at a cafe, has hair cut at a barber shop, and sees a movie at a movie theater, the event info may be transmitted to a survey center by businesses, banks, or other financial institutions. Next, the survey center may send a message to the user's smartphone, assuming the phone is registered for surveys. An alert signal may appear on the smartphone's touch screen or GUI. The user may give a quick tap on the screen to open a survey window. Assuming everything is satisfactory, one-action multi-event survey may be performed to cover all events at the same time.
Back to
It may be configured such that events are accumulated for surveys within a given time frame, which may be a couple of days or a week, or as long as it is convenient and practical for users.
Completing multiple events with one action may save a great deal of time and avoid a lot of hassles for users without compromising survey quality. Besides, it is also easy for users to start a conventional survey session by tapping button 36, or post comments by tapping button 38, if there is an urge to do so. There may be options available for users to revisit and revise survey answers within a period of time. The survey window shown here may be placed on display surface 28 of a smartphone, tablet computer, desktop computer, or other suitable devices. The survey window may be called out from an alert list or an icon, or show up by prearranged schedules.
If a user moves ahead with the survey in step 104, he or she may choose one-action method to complete three events simultaneously, as in step 110. In such a circumstance, it is presumed that the three events yield the same feedback answer and thus can be done together. The user may also choose to do step 108 for a conventional survey process, where traditional questions and answers are prepared, and thus multiple actions are needed. After the survey is done, the survey window is closed in step 112, and a prearranged or previous interface appears in step 114. When a survey is over, as a routine, client 80 may send survey related info to a survey center or server 82, which may be carried out by a suitable application or software familiar to those skilled in the art. It is noted that the more events involved in a survey, the more time saved for a user. But an overly prolonged accumulation period may cause issues due to faded memory and the complication of a large quantity of cases.
Before a survey gets started, it is appropriate or often required to get permission, authorization, or consent from a user. Especially when a survey is conducted by a third party, like a survey center who is not related to any event, a user may want to make sure that personal and survey related info would be used properly and within a limit. User consent may allow surveys to be conducted without the need of getting permission every time. For example, a user may install an application at a smartphone or computer to set up a system for survey sessions. During the installation process, the user may be asked to give authorization to conduct surveys and to submit personal information for creating an account. The submitted information is then transferred to a facility of survey center, e.g., server 82 of
Since many daily activities may become eligible events, a user may not know what event would happen in advance, but nonetheless may face it in a survey at a later time. For instance, a user may not foresee all stores in which he or she would make a purchase before entering a shopping mall. And for every transactions made at the mall, the user knows it would show up on a survey list. Thus for a user, there are always some events which may happen without any plan; but once an event takes place, the user knows a corresponding survey would follow. This feature differentiates it from conventional surveys, where a user either knows a future event and survey are bundled, or doesn't have any knowledge of survey when taking part in an event.
Because of the resistance and difficulties to do surveys, a user rarely takes a survey to evaluate daily activities. In the practice of conventional surveys, participants are usually promised to have a chance to win a raffle prize, or are compensated by a small gift. The effect of raffle prize is limited. Small gift may be unattractive and yet costly to a business. Normally a user may take no more than one survey during a long time. If a user does complete a couple of surveys, the surveys are likely conducted by unrelated organizations. Therefore, it is out of the question or unrealistic to add up small awards of surveys. But when events to be surveyed happen on a daily basis, or happen many times a week, it becomes desirable to add up survey benefits together for a reward which cannot be redeemed with benefit from a single event. Therefore, step 134 introduces a method which encourages users to do more surveys, and to earn more points.
Another exemplary flow diagram of an embodiment is illustrated in
In above discussions, survey question is focused on satisfaction regarding a user's experience. The question may be like “Satisfied?” or “Are You Satisfied?”. But survey question on satisfaction alone may limit events to be covered. For instance, if a survey is about “Shopping at Gadget Store”, question “Satisfied?” is suitable. But if a survey is arranged to explore users' opinions or attitude toward an issue, a proposal, or a policy, a question like “Agree?” may be more appropriate. For instance, given survey subjects such as “0.1% Sales Tax Increase for School Improvement” or “Proposal to Build New Bay Bridge”, “Agree?” or “Agree with?”, instead of “Satisfied?”, is the right question.
When surveys to be conducted deal with opinions on issues as well as experiences, questions “Satisfied?” and “Agree?” may be presented together so that one action may still complete multiple surveys. For instance, “Satisfied or Agree?”, “Satisfied/Agree?”, or “Satisfied/Agree with?” may represent a compact form of two questions. The combined questions are also easy to comprehend and easy to answer simultaneously with yes, no, or so-so.
Shown in
Other objects presented in the interface are interactive buttons 50 and 52 which provide two more options. A user may tap button 50 to open a new window where traditional surveys may be prepared for each event. A user may select one traditional survey and proceed with tackling questions one by one. When a user wants to post reviews or comments on an event or issue, the user may tap button 52 to open a writing space and then choose a subject to write about.
CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPEThus it can be seen that systems and methods are introduced for conducting improved surveys.
The improved surveys have the following main features and advantages:
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- (1). One action is used to target multiple survey events simultaneously;
- (2). One action is used to complete multiple surveys simultaneously;
- (3). Multiple questions are prepared that apply to all events;
- (4). One answer is used to address multiple questions and complete multiple surveys at the same time; and
- (5). Users are awarded by addible benefits for doing surveys;
Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments. Numerous modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.
RAMIFICATIONSEvents to be surveyed may also include an experience which is very personal for a user, such as an experience or feels of a certain period of personal life, a certain period of family life, a cultural or religious custom, and so on. For instance, a survey may be held on feels of a personal habit, like attitude toward smoking, which is personal but reflects a social aspect, or an experience of a spiritual activity.
Besides click and tap, vocal instructions may also be used to select events and submit an answer, if a user's device is equipped with a voice recognition system. Such a method may be favored when VR and AR devices are involved, since input via tapping becomes unavailable. For instance, after a survey interface like that of
Lastly, various smartphone positioning technologies may be utilized to qualify a user for a survey. For instance, once it is detected that a user's device enters the perimeter of a venue, such as a park, zoo, entertainment site, seminar room, concert hall, the info may be transmitted to a survey center. Then the user may be enrolled in a survey on his or her experience at the venue.
Therefore the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
Claims
1. A system arranged for working with an apparatus having a display and stored executable instructions, comprising:
- A) communication component for enabling communication between said system and a survey center via an electronic device or a communication network;
- B) survey means for presenting a survey session to a user, said survey means configured such that said display shows simultaneously a plurality of surveys arranged for a plurality of events respectively;
- C) said survey means configured such that said display presents a plurality of questions and a plurality of graphic objects representing answers for responding to said plurality of questions, said plurality of questions arranged for each of said plurality of surveys;
- D) said system arranged such that reception of one of said answers which is submitted by said user at said system addresses each of said plurality of question; and
- E) said system arranged such that a survey result is transmitted to said survey center.
2. The system according to claim 1 wherein reception of one of said answers causes simultaneous completion of said plurality of surveys.
3. The system according to claim 1 wherein said plurality of surveys is selected by said user respectively.
4. The system according to claim 1, further including an award scheme to incentivize said user based on completion of said plurality of surveys.
5. The system according to claim 1 wherein said plurality of questions is arranged related to user satisfaction, user attitude, or user opinion.
6. The system according to claim 1 wherein said survey session is arranged to provide a working space on said display for said user to enter own words.
7. The system according to claim 1 wherein said answers contain a positive reply, a negative reply, and a neutral reply.
8. A computer implemented method performed for conducting a survey session comprising:
- A) arranging communication between a first device and a survey center via an electronic device or a communication network, said first device having a display and stored executable instructions;
- B) presenting said survey session to a user, said survey session including a plurality of surveys arranged for a plurality of events respectively;
- C) displaying on said display a plurality of questions and a plurality of graphic objects representing answers for responding to said plurality of questions, said plurality of questions arranged for each of said plurality of surveys;
- D) addressing each of said plurality of questions after receiving one of said answers; and
- E) transmitting a survey result to said survey center via said electronic device or said communication network.
9. The method according to claim 8, further including concluding said plurality of surveys after receiving one of said answers.
10. The method according to claim 8, further including obtaining user selection of said plurality of surveys.
11. The method according to claim 8, further including incentivizing said user by award based on completion of said plurality of surveys.
12. The method according to claim 8 wherein said plurality of questions is arranged related to user satisfaction, user attitude, or user opinion.
13. The method according to claim 8, further including arranging an option for said user to select, wherein said option provides more questions for one or more of said plurality of surveys.
14. The method according to claim 8 wherein said answers include a positive reply and a negative reply.
15. A computer implemented method performed for conducting a survey session comprising:
- A) arranging communication between a first device and a survey center via an electronic device or a communication network, said first device having a display and stored executable instructions;
- B) presenting said survey session to a user, said survey session including a plurality of surveys arranged for a plurality of events respectively;
- C) displaying on said display said plurality of surveys for said user to select;
- D) displaying on said display a plurality of questions, said plurality of questions arranged for each of said plurality of surveys;
- E) showing on said display selected surveys after said user makes selections;
- F) addressing each of said plurality of questions after receiving response from said user; and
- G) transmitting a survey result to said survey center via said electronic device or said communication network.
16. The method according to claim 15, further including concluding said selected surveys after receiving response from said user.
17. The method according to claim 15, further including incentivizing said user by award based on completion of said selected surveys.
18. The method according to claim 15 wherein part of said plurality of surveys is caused by impromptu activities of said user.
19. The method according to claim 15 wherein said plurality of questions is arranged related to user satisfaction, user attitude, or user opinion.
20. The method according to claim 15, further including presenting a plurality of answers for said plurality of questions.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 22, 2017
Publication Date: May 11, 2017
Inventor: Chian Chiu Li (Fremont, CA)
Application Number: 15/412,043